Waking Up
by Hikari Maho
Summary: A new adoption into Booth's life throws all the character's specially formed relationships for a loop , as they are being forced to ask just what or who really matters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bones_ or any of the characters in _Bones_.

Summary: A new addition to Booth's life throws all the character's specially formed relationships for a loop, as they are constantly being forced to ask just what or who really matters.

_Waking Up_

Agent Seeley Booth was just having one of those days when everything seemed to be going wrong. First his alarm hadn't gone off this morning so he was late leaving for work, then Starbucks had screwed up his order and it was well known that people shouldn't mess with Special Agent Seeley Booth's coffee. Then as if the morning wasn't bad enough he didn't even make it to his desk before his superior called him and told him he had a case. So he had to turn around and go pick up his partner Dr. Temperance Brennen from the Jeffersonian Institute and fight traffic all over again. The rest of the day was spent gathering evidence and questioning people who insisted on lying to him.

The only agreeable part of his day was the time he spent alone with his partner, even if they did bicker most of the time. It was friendly bickering and it was just one of the many reasons that Booth loved her.

Anyways, it was finally the end of the day and he had been hoping to gather his work together and take it home for a nice and relaxing evening, but fate just didn't seem to want that for him. On his way to his office, Matt Randolph, one of the runners stopped him.

"Agent Booth!" Matt called hurrying down the hallway and into the elevator with him.

"Yeah Matt?" Booth asked a little bit impatiently.

"I'm supposed to tell you that there's a girl waiting for you in your office." Matt ran off quickly, hoping he wouldn't be on the receiving end of Booth's bad mood.

"What does she want?" Matt grew more nervous as Booth's tone turned sour.

"I don't know. Agent Macklin screened her. I was just sent to let you know." Matt sucked in his breath as he waited for Booth to reprimand him.

Booth watched Matt's reaction out of the corner of his eye and decided to take it easy on the kid, he was a good kid and Booth wasn't really mad at him. "Okay. Do you know anything else about her?"

"No sir." Matt answered refusing to look Booth in the eye.

Booth sighed. "Okay then Matt, thanks for the heads up." _I am going to kill Agent Macklin for blind siding me like this. Oh well she's probably just here about the case. Might as well get this over with so I can get home _Booth thought as he made his way out of the elevator and into his office.

"Hello I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth, how can I help you?" Booth asked as he walked through the door without really looking at her. As he seated himself at his desk he looked at her for the first time and nearly jumped out of his seat, his mother was starring back at him.

"Hi, My name is Amnity. I need your help." Her voice cut through the haze that was settling around his vision and he was able to see that this girl was not in fact his mother, his mother was dead. This girl's hair was slightly longer and a darker shade of brown, her face more round, her eyes were a shocking blue, like his partner's, instead of green, and she was much younger.

"What can I help you with Amnity?" He asked once he had calmed down a bit. While he waited for her answer he continued to evaluate her. He found that the skin beneath her eyes looked bruised and her skin was pulled tight across her face, like she wasn't eating enough. Even though it is summer and quite hot, she wore long sleeves and pants, and she was shivering. Her arms were also crossed in front of her as if she was holding herself in, keeping as much distance between him and her. The direction his thoughts took made him frown and she responded to that as if she was afraid of him, drawing even further back.

"I… my family died recently and I…, well I…" Booth nodded to himself as he watched her flounder for words trying to bring herself to say what she needed, but being unable to voice those needs. He felt bad for the poor girl who was obviously very affected by what had happened.

"Do you think they were murdered? Would you like me to look into it?" He hoped to save her some discomfort by finishing for her, figuring that was what she wanted, what else could she possibly want. He wondered who was heading the investigation now and why she wasn't satisfied with them. Although he and Bones had been ranked the number one team of investigators, so it wasn't too much of a surprise that she came to him."

"No," her quite answer shook him out of his thoughts again, "my parents died in a car accident. A drunk driver hit them on the highway…" her words trailed off into silence and she struggled to recover from the intense feeling of pain that washed through her body.

"Well then what can I help you with?" Booth questioned, thoroughly confused. He and his partner investigated murder, there wasn't anything he could do if she knew everything that happened.

"I have very few family members left alive, two cousins to be exact, and I was hoping that I could stay with one of them while I get back on my feet. I have no where else to stay and I was led to believe that I could find them here." Amnity hedged glancing around nervously, avoiding looking at his face.

Suddenly Booth has a sickening feeling that he knew just who her cousins were, but he asked anyways, hoping he was wrong. "What are their names Amnity?"

"Jared and Seeley Booth."

Author's Note:

This fanfiction will definitely play with the family set ups in _Bones_. This is a forewarning to not expect my set up to follow canon. I will try to go as close as I can to the original, however I do not know enough information to be completely accurate and my story may simply require I make some changes. A family graph will be added into the author's note section of the next chapter.

That being said I could use any and all information that people have on Booth's family.

I also apologize if there are any grammatical errors in my work. I do edit, but sometimes my eyes skip right over things. If there are any major things please let me know so that I can fix them.

Thank you and Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

Waking Up Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Here is the family history for this story.**

**You can tell which ones I don't have real names for so if you know the names please feel free to let me know so that I can change them here. And you can tell where I plan to take Booth and Bones' relationship, but I should mention that it is not there yet. This story beings at the time when Booth was dating Cam.**

**Special Thanks to Sonitera who is the only one who reviewed my first chapter and gave me any information whatsoever.**

**Booth's P.O.V.**

"Jared and Seeley Booth" The whispered names hit Booth like a bad of bricks as he sat there stunned and starring at Amnity while she looked at him as if the world revolved around his reaction to her words. It was the first time she had leaned forward since he had gotten here.

But he wasn't really in the mood to appreciate that. All Booth could do was stare at her, unable to comprehend what she had just spoken, his mind in a complete panic trying to wrap itself around the idea. _Cousin. She was his cousin… impossible, simply impossible. There must be some kind of mistake, she's got to be wrong._ His mind was practically begging this to be the case.

"There must be some kind of mistake," Booth finally choked out, his voice as weak and uncertain as he felt, "I can't possibly be your cousin. I don't have any cousins."

Amnity frowned as if disturbed by something, but that quickly changed to determination. "I assure you I am absolutely serious. What can I do to prove that I am telling the truth?" Her business like tone did little to conceal the intensity behind them. An intensity that was so much easier for Booth to just ignore, rather than confront.

"I… uh… I'll need your name, full name, and the full names of your parents." His mind started running through the list of things he would need to find a person's family history, but the list was short and he soon ran out of things to distract him from the actual problem. So Special Agent Seeley Booth did the only thing he could do in this situation. He ran.

Not literally, but within seconds of finishing his notes he was out of his chair and on his way out of the office. Pausing at the door and turning to look at Amnity again, "I should have the results in a half hour. Feel free to wait here. I'll be back." He turned away and headed out the door.

_I am not running away. I am not running away. I am NOT running away… Ah hell… where am I gonna go? _His confused thoughts did not slow his gait, but his eyes started darting around looking for a spot to hide. _Not hiding, _he reminded himself, _just a place to do my work in peace._

Agent Erickson wheeled past Booth and into the elevator, giving Booth a measuring look as he passed.

_He's such a good guy. He really didn't deserve to end up paralyzed. It's a good thing he had prepared Macklin so well, although I don't think… Macklin! That little bastard is the one who let her in. It's time for a little payback._

A wicked smirk crossed Booth's face as he moved purposefully down the hall towards Agent Macklin's office, taking no note of the people who jumped out of the way as they noticed the look on his face.

**Macklin's P.O.V.**

Agent Macklin was very satisfied with how his day had gone. He had caught some bad guys, spent lunch with Erickson, bought and sent his girl some flowers, crushed everyone at the shooting range, and personally delivered Agent Booth a pretty little package that was sure to start all sorts of problems.

_I wonder if Matt made it away from Booth alive. I heard he's been in a pretty pissy mood recently. Hahaha, that guy is hilarious when he's upset. I can't see why everyone else runs away from him. I wish I could see his face when he hears what she has to say. _Macklin thought wistfully while packing his bag to leave.

**General P.O.V.**

Booth's ability to single mindedly pursue a task was legendary within the bureau, for both the accomplishments it achieved and the fear it placed in his enemies. What they didn't know was that this ability was what had protected Booth mentally from his tasks when he couldn't deal with them. It shielded him from the reality of it all.

So it was with gladness that Booth threw himself single mindedly into his mission to make Macklin pay, letting everything else slide away. Even Macklin's door found itself dealing with the brute force of Booth's mission; swinging out of his way at an alarming rate and straining its hinges before swinging back in.

**Macklin's P.O.V.**

Macklin heard his the air hiss as his door swung out violently, but missed the silent footfalls of his attacker as the attacker crept up behind him and grabbed him by the collar, flinging him backward and into his desk.

He didn't even have time to think before a hand was wrapped around his neck, cutting off his airway and a pair of very angry chocolate brown eyes filled his vision.

"I want to know what in the hell you were thinking, landing me with this without checking out her claims first or at least warning me, cause I am very tempted to haul your ass down to the gym so that I can show you just how bad of an idea it is to mess with me and anything to do with my family. The only thing that's stopping me is the fact that I have great respect for Agent Erickson and I can't believe he would send someone so stupid out into the field. So please explain to me, and quickly, what the hell you were thinking and before I drag you outta here."

Booth's snarl sent shivers up Macklin's spine and he understood for the first time just how truly dangerous Agent Booth could be when upset. Before it was a concept others commented on and ran from, now it was a reality that was utterly deadly.

Booth's growl cut into his thoughts in a very clear warning, "Macklin…" squeezing his throat a little tighter, causing Macklin to realize just how little air he had left.

"Bo.. Bootth…" Macklin gasped, "need air" clutching desperately at Booth's hand.

Sensing the sincerity of Macklin's request and weighing his urge to throttle Macklin with his need for an answer he loosened his hold enough for Macklin to draw in a ragged breath.

"Start talking Macklin, this is the last warning I'm going to give you." And while that statement held truth in it, Macklin realized that Booth seemed to have gained better control over himself and felt very relieved that he probably wasn't going to die today. Probably being the key word. He spoke quickly.

"What do you want to know?" Macklin realized that his question would probably anger Booth, but really where was he supposed to start, what did Booth really want to know. _It was a harmless little joke. She either is or isn't his cousin, nothing to freak out about. I mean I know he's stressed, but the idea of a little more work couldn't possibly have thrown him so far over the edge. _

Macklin quickly snapped out of his thoughts as he noticed that the murderous glint was returning to Booth's eye. "Did you look into her request?"

"No."

"Why not?" Booth's hands tightened marginally

"She wanted to talk to you and you always get so possessive of your cases. I wasn't going to jump into that. It was just a little extra paperwork for you anyways. Not a big deal." Macklin ignored the jump in octave his voice had undergone and noticed a minute too late that dismissing whatever was upsetting Booth probably wasn't the greatest idea, but he was still confused, _what is the big deal?_

"It's family stuff Macklin, family matters, family is a big deal. So next time one of my family comes in here needing something from me you either help them out or you find a way to get a hold of me and tell me what the hell is up. Got it?" Booth yelled, releasing his captive with a strong push.

**Booth's P.O.V.**

Booth tried to reign in his anger as he took in the totally bewildered expression on Agent Macklin's face. He knew that Macklin really hadn't done anything horrible, that he was over reacting. But it was so much easier to be angry at the person that had dumped this all on his lap, even if Amnity had come looking specifically for him, than to deal with all the confusion, anxiety, hope, and hurt that came with Amnity's confession.

"So she's really your cousin then?" Macklin's voice broke off Booth's train of thought and forced him to focus on the current situation again.

"What?"

"You said, 'The next time one of my family comes in here," so that means she's your really cousin?" _Oh, God, I'm already claiming her as family and I haven't even made the calls to see if she's right. I'm in so much trouble._

"I don't know Agent Macklin. I came here because I needed to find that out. I need to make a few calls and check out her story and I am commandeering your office while I do so."

"Why? Couldn't you just use your own office?"

"Are you really a certified Agent?" The maniacal look had returned to Booth's eye, "Amnity is currently residing in my office, do you think she would find it pleasant to listen to me tear apart her story to see if she is telling the truth? Ah yes, that's a great idea." The sarcasm dripping from his tone, had Agent Macklin backing away with his hands raised, but the look in his eye said that he knew there was something more to it.

Booth cussed in his head and glared at the Agent, thoroughly done with him, but even more unwilling to go back. So he just hissed at Macklin, "Suck it up Macklin, I'll be out of here as soon as I can be."

He watched as Macklin nodded and slowly turned to go back to what he was doing, before seating himself in one of the comfier chairs. He was vindictively pleased that he was stopping Macklin from going home like the agent had obviously been planning to do.

Sighing in resignation Booth opened his phone and began to make some calls.

**Amnity's P.O.V.**

Amnity watched as Agent Booth stomped down the hallway, scaring everyone in his path. She was worried, she had hoped that he had known that he had cousins, hoped that his father or at least his mother had told him. She had known it was unlikely however, he father had told her about his brother more than once and more than once she had wished along with her parents that they could have taken in Jared and Seeley.

Watching him now made her wish that more than ever, but instead of finding herself in a position to help him she was in a position that required her to ask help from him. She knew that she didn't deserve his help, having never helped him herself. Though how she could of helped him she had no idea, she had just been born when Booth had taken off for the army.

She had been angry with her parents a few times, demanding why they hadn't helped her cousins, why they hadn't made sacrifices to do so. They had never answered her, but she had seen the looks in their eyes: the awful knowledge of the part they had played in the boy's horrible childhood, the wish that they could turn back time and take their nephews away from their home, but knowing also that they couldn't have done so, because whatever had stopped them before would stop them again.

It had taken her time to forgive them, she had been twelve at the time she found out just how bad it had been for Seeley and Jared, but the look in their eyes as she judged them let her know that they hurt even more over the decision than she did.

She often wondered why her parents talked about them at all, she hadn't needed to know. The only answer she could come up with was that they wanted to make sure that their whole family kept in mind how lucky they were and the pain others had to deal with daily. Maybe they were paying for their sins in staying away from their nephews with guilt and suffering.

Regardless of their reasons she was glad that they had. She had come to love her cousins through her parent's stories of the two boys. She had wondered about how they came to know all these things and had been surprised to learn just how closely they had watched over the boys, even if they couldn't directly help them.

After awhile she started wondering what had happened after Booth joined the Army and Jared joined the Navy, so she began looking for any and all information on them. She had a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings that mentioned her cousins. She celebrated their victories and awards, and cried when they suffered. She had even bought Booth's partner's book in an effort to get closer to what he did and who he surrounded himself with. She had planned on visiting him in the near future, telling him everything, and now here she was letting him know he had a cousin in the worst situation.

She brought herself out of her memories and wondered for the millionth time why she had come here. What in the world she had expected, _It's not like I expected him to light up with joy knowing that he had some family besides Jared left. I should have just rode things out. I could have just as easily cashed in my college fund to pay for an apartment long enough to find a job. _

_But you didn't want that, you saw a chance to finally meet your cousins and you took it _a tiny voice whispered in her mind and even though it made her feel like a complete jerk to take advantage of such a horrible situation she knew the voice was right. She could have done something else, but she had wanted her cousin. And now she would have to reap the consequences. It didn't look good either, she hadn't expected him to take the news well, but she also hadn't expected him to take the news as bad as he had.

She was scared, scared that she had ruined everything by making such an impulsive decision. When he came back she knew that she would have to apologize for everything. To ask forgiveness for not thinking things fully through since she was dealing with her parent's death. Hopefully he would forgive her and then she could suggest she come back a different time so maybe they could chat. Then she would hightail it out of there, straight to the bank to get her money.

Her thoughts were cut off as she heard the door to Booth's office open and she looked up from where she had been starring at her hands, hunched over. He didn't look at her immediately, just made his way over to the desk to sit down. Amnity took a deep breath and prepared herself, _come on girl, you can do this. For him._

"I apologize Agent Booth…"

Author's Note

I want to thank everyone for reading. I was going to keep going with the chapter, but I feared that if I did I wouldn't finish for another two weeks. I find that I would rather keep my chapters relatively short, not real short, but relatively, so that I can update more often. It takes me forever to write things out and I don't want you all to have to suffer and wait any longer than you absolutely must.

As I said at the beginning I only got one response that had any information on Booth's family, so I would appreciate other people's thoughts and knowledge as well. I want to be as accurate as I can be while keeping my storyline.

Thanks again for reading and for reviewing.


	3. Chapter 3

Waking Up Chapter 3

**Booth's P.O.V.**

I walked towards my office totally absent mindedly. My thoughts were still swirling with the implications from the information I had gained. _It isn't everyday that you learn you have a long lost cousin and an aunt and uncle who just died. It isn't everyday you learn that you aren't alone…_ That thought made me stop, _I am not alone, I have Jared. He's been with me most of my life._

_But he doesn't really understand, he doesn't care what you went through, he only cares about himself. He doesn't want you in his life either,_ a little voice whispered in my head.

_Amnity doesn't understand either, she wasn't there._

_No, but at least she wants to be a part of your life_, the voice whispered back.

I was still trying to gather my thoughts and accept that things had become so bad that I was brought down to arguing with myself, as I sat down. I knew what I had to do, what I wanted to do, but I was having a hard time verbalizing it. I had just resolved to speak when she started talking.

It took me a minute to understand what she was talking about and another to recover. "Whoa there, just wait a minute. You're leaving?"

_So much for wanting to be a part of my life._

_Shut up she's talking again._ I quickly refocused on the conversation at hand.

"Well yeah. I shouldn't have imposed on you so suddenly. I can figure something out." Her tone was hesitant again, obviously having not expected to have me stop her. It occurred to me that she thought I was reluctant to deal with her, _not that I can blame her since I left her sitting here for the last hour. And now she's looking for a way to back out. _

_You can't let her go._

_Yeah I can, _that little voice was starting to get real annoying. _I wonder what Bones would say if I told her I was arguing with a voice in my head. Probably something about going to see a doctor because my brain is sending out false signals or something of the sort. _I almost laughed aloud at my thoughts, but caught myself in time. _I don't think she'd appreciate me laughing right now._

_Yeah smart. And no you can't let her go. She just got here and she is the only link you have to family outside of Jared. Plus she needs your help. Are you really doing to let her down?_

_No, I'm not. _I looked up just in time to see her take a breath to talk again and help up my hand to stop her.

"I appreciate the thought you've put into this, but I can't allow you to just go when you are in need of some help and I am in a position to help you. So where is all of your stuff?

**Amnity's P.O.V.**

I couldn't help but stare at him in wonder. I had imagined this happening, but I had never really believed that he would say yes. I felt like jumping up and running over and hugging him, but I managed to keep myself in my seat. It was a close thing, I could feel my body go ridged with elation, the excitement flooding my veins. I had to grip the arm rests of my chair to remember to stay put.

"Thank you Agent Booth. You don't know how much this means to me."

"You're welcome and you don't have to keep calling me Agent Booth, Booth is fine." I could tell he was getting more and more uncomfortable, but I was too happy to care.

"Okay Booth it is." I giggled lightly, I just couldn't help myself.

"So, uh… we should probably grab your stuff. It's getting late…"

"My stuff is at a motel just about six minutes from here. I can direct you from the road."

"Okay. How did you get here? Do you have a car?"

"No, I took a cab here." I observed his reaction to my news in amusement. He was obviously still uncomfortable, but gathering himself together pretty well.

"Well then," he said, "I guess I'll drive you. You ready to go? I want to get out of here before someone drops another surprise on my lap." A few moments of silence followed his annoyed statement before he realized just what he had said. "Ah, not that you are a bad surprise… I just meant that… uh." He stammered and blushed, I broke out laughing and shook my head. I wasn't really offended, I was too happy that he had accepted me.

He glanced at me trying to figure out how to take my amusement. I decided to take pity on him. "You ready to go Ag… I mean Booth?" I fumbled slightly but he paid no attention to my slip up so I ignored it too.

"Yeah." He spoke while gathering all of his belongings and making his way to the door. Looks like today was turning out to be a good day after all.

**Booth's P.O.V.**

As I walked out of the Hoover building with Amnity I could feel the stares of my fellow agents burning into the back of my neck. I attempted to ignore them. I know that they know that any rumors that go around about me will result in some serious ass kicking.

Anyways it wasn't their opinions that mattered, it's my partner's. _ Bones… who knows how she will react. I'll have to talk with her and Amnity before they meet._

"Over here Amnity." I called as she hurried after me.

I got to the car and opened the passenger door for her. I felt my face turn slightly red from embarrassment as she looked at me weird before getting in. _At least she hasn't gone off n a tangent about being able to do things for herself and alpha male tendencies. Then again I think Bones is the only person that does that._

I hurried around the car and jumped into the driver's seat, hoping my face wasn't red anymore. She was still looking at me weird when it happened.

"I can open the door for myself Booth. You don't have to do that." I felt myself loose it then and I blame it on the day I had been having.

"Is it so wrong to open the door for someone? Why do all of you females have the need to be so damn independent? Can't you just appreciate the gesture for what it is?" My voice was tight with anger and I knew that I wasn't making a good impression, but really now was not the time to test my patience.

As the silence stretched on I realized that I had yet to release the steering wheel from my grip or look at her. When I finally did I wished that I hadn't. She was looking at me slightly alarmed and I had the feeling that she was ready to bolt. _Oh crap. Why can't I just keep my mouth shut? _

"I'm sorry Booth; I didn't mean to offend you. I do appreciate the gesture. I just didn't want you to feel like you have to wait on me hand and foot just cause you agreed to help me out." Her tone was sincere and I immediately felt bad for my reaction. I had to remember that she isn't Bones, she isn't the person I had been arguing with for the past two years.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. This is just something me and my partner argue about a lot. I'm sorry I over-reacted." I watched her process that and noted the veiled excitement that crossed her face when I mentioned my partner. I'd ask about it later.

"Ah I see. No worried then, I'll keep my opinions about you chivalrous men to myself." Her tone was light and joking to break the tension, so I just gave her a sardonic smile back.

"So where are we headed?"

"Oh! Turn right out of the parking lot then take a left at the light."

We made it to her hotel and grabbed her stuff. She didn't have much for someone who was moving all of her possessions out of her house. _I wonder where everything else is, or if she sold it all._ It was two hours later when we finally made it home. We had to stop to grab dinner on the way home so it was late and we both agreed to be quiet going through my building.

**Amnity's P.O.V.**

When Booth opened the door to his flat/apartment thing the first thing I thought was: _definitely a bachelor's pad. _The second was: _it's actually pretty nice._ The third came when I saw something move out of the shadows. That thought was: _wow. I didn't expect that._ Which was followed by: _I should have, I mean come on._

"Hello Seeley." The sexual voice came from a beautiful dark skinned, dark haired woman wearing nothing by one of Booth's (at least I assumed it was Booth's) shirts partially unbuttoned.

"Camille!" It sounded like Booth was choking as he said her name and stared at her in complete shock. "What are you doing here?" Booth was doing a great impression of a fish and I wished I had my camera on me.

"I figured you might appreciate a nice surprise after such as long day." She said as she sauntered up to him sensually, her eyes completely riveted on his face.

He, however, was still in shock. Since it appeared he wasn't going to say anything I figured that now would be a good time to leave. "Well I'll just go get the rest of my stuff from the car." She jumped at the sound of my voice and her eyes searched the shadows for me. It was then I realized that she couldn't see me because Booth was partially blocking me from view. So I moved out of his shadow and watched her eyes snap to my form. Then she screamed and grabbed at the shirt she was wearing, clutching it tightly around her. I made a hasty retreat before her reaction could turn violent and walked back down the hallway swiftly.

The last thing I heard was her shouting at Booth, "Who the hell was _that_?"

**Booth's P.O.V.**

When Amnity returned Cam had calmed down and changed back into her work clothes. She wouldn't admit it, but I could tell she was embarrassed from the pink flush on her cheeks that had refused to fade.

I was making a drink at the time, I deserved something strong after the day I had had.

She poked her head around the door cutely as if to make sure that it was alright to enter. I waved her in and pointed to a door on the right of the flat. "The guest room is over there. You can use it. I already put your other stuff in there. Why don't you go get settled and then come back out here for a nice chat." She nodded at my suggestions, gave a small smile, and disappeared through the door.

Sighing I turned back to pouring some scotch into my glass. I was not looking forward to all the explanations that would come with introducing Amnity, but I didn't think anything would be worse than her introduction to Cam. We would need to have a talk though. _Another late night after a long day. Maybe I'll sleep in tomorrow._

I didn't have much time to contemplate things before Amnity rejoined us. "Amnity, I would like you to meet Dr. Camille S. She works at the Jeffersonian and helps me with my cases. Cam I would like to introduce you to Amnity Booth, my cousin." I looked between them both and noted the same look of veiled excitement I had seen earlier when I mentioned the lab.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I apologize for earlier. I had not expected Seeley to bring anyone home." Cam's voice was professional, but the ever present blush gave her away. _I'm glad she took everything so well. She's just as surprised as I was._

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. I'm sorry I ruined your surprise." A slight bit of self-satisfaction tinted her words showing that she wasn't sorry at all.

_Hmm… I wonder why she's happy that she ruined Cam's surprise… She can't already dislike her. Wow this could get complicated fast._

"It's not a big deal. I can surprise Seeley just about anytime I want." Cam's jab went straight home and I watched helplessly as the girls entered a battle of wills.

"I supposed you're right, that can happen anytime. Bringing home long lost family doesn't happen quite as often. It should take precedence I suppose." Amnity answered with a not-so-subtle glare which Cam returned. I was starting to get really nervous. Amnity's next question completely threw me.

**Amnity's P.O.V.**

"So are you guys dating then?" I directed the question to Booth and watched him closely knowing that Dr. S. was doing the same, but this would be my clue.

"I… uh… well…" I raised my eyebrows. His reaction was interesting and very heartening. I decided to add some heat to the fire.

"Just lovers then? Don't worry no judgments here." I almost chuckled with evil glee as he became increasingly nervous and uncomfortable.

"Seeley," Cam cut in, "she caught us, well me, in a very compromising position. There's no need to hide our relationship from her. In fact, I'm pretty sure you couldn't have since she's living with you now. You can tell her we're going out." She had moved over to stand next to him when she spoke and he didn't look comfortable at all.

"Yeah. I guess." He mumbled. I almost laughed at the uncertainty he was displaying, but stopped myself.

I was thoroughly pumped by his non-committed responses. Cam was a problem I hadn't expected, but it looked like she wouldn't be much of a problem, well at least on his side. The predatory look on her face when she looked up at him convinced me she would be the problem in this relationship.

I was even more pleased when he asked her to leave… sort of. "Well it's really late and Amnity and I have to go over a few things before we turn in. So I'll see you tomorrow Cam." Her stare was calculating, but she finally nodded in agreement.

He walked her to the door and gave her a kiss goodbye, a quick kiss, more like a peck really. I was just a few feet behind so I called out my goodbye and watched her walk away with satisfaction.

When Booth closed the door and turned to look at me I was grinning in amusement.

"We need to talk." Those words caused all sorts of people to get nervous and fear the worse, but coming from him after the mess I had just seen him in only caused my grin to expand.

He led the way tot eh dinner table and pulled out a seat for me. I rolled by eyes, but didn't say anything and he just ignored me. When he was settled he folded his hands on the table and took a deep breath. I waited until it looked like he was going to speak and then jumped in.

"So what was up with the whole deal with Cam? Are you dating her or not?" My question was straightforward and managed to completely unbalance him. I wasn't sure he was ever going to regain his footing at this point. But that was okay with me cause he needed to stay unbalanced if I was going to get my answers.

"Yeah, we are… I guess" The way he said it, through gritted teeth, like someone was dragging that answer out of him, gave me hope. His following qualifier threw me though. Still I went after it, like a dog on a bone.

"You guess? Shouldn't you know something like that?"

He sighed, good sign. It means he's giving into the inevitable, answering my questions. "We're seeing each other, but it's not really serious. It's not going anywhere. We're more friends than anything else."

"So your lovers then?"

"Something like that." He seemed uncomfortable with that term too and I wondered if he realized just how serious things were for Cam. I doubted it.

"And nobody knows, so I need to stay quiet about it?"

"I'm pretty sure some people know, but it's not an acknowledged fact. It's kept on a down low so that it doesn't interfere with work."

"So should I expect her over often?" If I thought he was uncomfortable before, it was nothing compared to now. Apparently he didn't like the thought of her here with me. I wondered why that was, probably cause it made the whole thing seem more serious than he wanted it to be.

"No, don't worry about that. I'll let you know if she is coming over, but I wouldn't expect that to happen very often."

"Okay, sounds good." And it did. I didn't dislike Cam, but she was in the way of my plan.

"Enough about me and Cam. We need to talk about how things are going to work out. I would also like some answers about your family." His change of topic was tine. I had all the info I needed for now and we did need to talk about that.

**Booth's P.O.V.**

Her face changed from inquisitive to serious in an instant and she nodded to my request.

"Okay so what are your plans for daily activities and long-term stuff?" I left my question open because I didn't really know what to ask, but figured that was a good place to start.

"Well my daily activities are mostly just small bits of my bigger goals. Those would be to finish settling my parent's material possessions, find a job, find a university to attend, get a car, and get to know my family here." The last bit she said with a smile and I couldn't help but smile in return. _Lord please help me survive this girl._

"Other things I intend to do are shopping for food, cooking for us, and cleaning this place."

"What?" I asked slightly bewildered, "You don't have to cook, clean, and shop for food. I can do that."

"Well you haven't asked me to pay anything for rent so I might as well contribute somehow. Plus you're the one with a job, a very demanding job at that. You shouldn't have to come home and worry about cooking and cleaning when I am here and have tons of time to do that stuff."

I didn't really like the thought of her cleaning house for me, but she had a solid argument. The only thing that bothered me was what I was actually doing for her, besides providing a place for her to stay which I would have to pay for regardless of whether she was here or not.

"Okay. I can agree to that on two conditions. The first being that you cannot clean my room."

"Deal. I don't really want to mess with your personal stuff anyways."

"Good. The other thing is that you have to tell me if there is anything else I can do for you or help you with. Our deal seems a little unbalanced. You're going to cook, clean, and shop while providing me with access to family I didn't think I had. I'm only providing you a place to stay which I was paying for anyways."

"You're providing me with family too you know." She whispered that so softly I almost missed it, but I managed to catch it and mentally cursed myself for not thinking about that. She had just lost her parents. Of course being here for her would mean a lot to her, but she continued before I could apologize. "But I can agree to your conditions readily. There is definitely something you can help me with."

"Name it." I was determined to make up for my blunder.

"I'd really like to meet your partner, Dr. Temperance Brennen." I laughed aloud at her request.

"That's it? That's all you want?"

"Yes. I've been dying to meet her."

"Well that's easy enough. We'll get together for dinner sometime soon; maybe I'll bring you by the lab with me." I was still chuckling lightly; such an easy request to fill. "Anyways, I think that's good for tonight. I'm beat. We'll talk again tomorrow. I think I'm going to go in late."

"I'm tired too so that sounds good." She pushed her chair back and stood up. "Good night Booth."

"Good night Amnity. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Will do." She turned and walked towards her room, but paused at the door and looked back at me. "Thank you again Booth. You don't know how much this means to me."

"No problem kid." I smiled as she shut the door behind her. _I think things are going to be okay. _And with that thought Booth retired for the night.


End file.
